OCR Text

Kokomo Tribune (Newspaper) - November 23, 1994, Kokomo, Indiana
1 KoKomo Ind kl Wednesday 1 iBSiSii Nov TRIBUNE 50 cents Bringing a bit of Christmas cheer Maggie Davis 13 an 8thgrader at the STAND members pooled their talents on Kokomo High School downtown campus Tuesday to decorate the center in a Christ and member of Students Taking A New mas theme Direction wipes access spray from a win dow at Bona Vista Rehabilitation Center Tribune photo by Tim Bath Motor voterbill stalls By STEVE JACKSON Tribune staff writer INDIANAPOLIS One last effort to pass a motor voter bill before the end of 1994 stalled Tuesday when House Democrats balked at overriding the1 General Assemblys rules to allow the bill to be passed in one day Republicans who now control both die Senate and the House wanted to use Tuesdays organi zational day to pass a barebones version of the bill which would allow residents to register to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and other government offices But some House Democrats who derailed an attempt to pass a similar bill earlier this year balked at providing the twothirds majority needed to pass the bill in a single day I think we had twothirds in the said North Salem Sen Richard Thompson the chief sponsor of the Republicans motor voter bill But we could not get assurance that we would get a Related story Indiana Legislators promise coop eration Page A2 twothirds majority in the House And without that theres no purpose in going through the business of trying to pass it Thompson said quick passage of the bill fell victim to the same thing that doomed it last March House Democrats desire for a statewide computerized voter reg istry Republicans leery of a potential million price tag for such a system opted instead for a bill that would meet the minimum requirements of the National Voter Registration Act better known as motor voter Thompson who chairs the Sen ate Elections Committee said the basic bill will be placed on a fast track in order to have it passed early in the 1995 session That may be too late however as far as federal officials are con cerned States mat do not have a motor voter bill in place by Jan 1 can be forced into compliance by the federal Justice Department Furthermore the state AFLCIO sued the General Assembly for failing to comply with the Voter Registration Act That case is cur rently pending in federal court With the General Assembly not convening again until Jan 4 Thompson acknowledges there is no chance Indiana will meet the federal deadline However he said the fasttrack process that should have a bill ready for the governors signature by midJanu ary should prevent a judge from imposing an implementation plan that may not be to the Republi cans liking Judges are prudent he said I cant imagine a judge see ing were getting something done and then mandating Thompson said it is likely that by the time a judge mandated compliance the General Assem bly will have passed its own plan anyway E Coli taints groundwater in Hemlock Schavee ByJEFFPARROTT Tribune staff writer A strong presence of fecal bacteria has been detected in the ground water of Hemlock a small rural community in Howard Countys Taylor Township county health department offi cials said Tuesday Water samples taken from four spots in underground drainage tiles revealed high levels of E Coliform bacteria commonly known as E Coli according to Joe Cross county environmental health specialist The presence of E Coli is a strong indicator that human solid waste is being dis charged into the groundwater Cross said The four samples taken Nov 7 contained and million E Coli organisms per milliliter of water Anything more than 200 organ isms per milliliter is considered of being an environ mental pollutant and health risk Cross said This is gross amounts of raw he said If s just they flush their toilets and out it goes into the The figures though serious in nature didnt come as a shock to Cross The health department has suspected residents of the old 66 hpine community of discharging sewage into underground drainage tiles since 1990 when E Coli first appeared in a sample prompted by a residents com plaint But the E Coli did surprise Kim Schavee whose back yard is bor dered by a creek and pond about a mile away into which the Hem lock drainage tiles eventually empty Thats horrible Thats Schavee the mother of boys age 4 5 and 7 said with disgust She said her sons along with other neighborhood children love to fish in the pond but wont be allowed to until the problem is cleaned up Thaf s a wise idea according to the health department There should be enough concern to keep kids from playing in that creek because ifs a pol luted Cross said Thaf s true of any creek in the county Theyre all E Coli bacteria if ingested in drinking water or brought into contact with open sores or the mouth area can cause nau sea diarrhea and stomach cramps The readings will serve as help ful documentation to show the Indiana Department of Environ mental Management when its time to remedy the situation Cross said Jason LeMaster county environ mental health specialist said he hopes to inform Hemlock resi dents by midFebruary of their options probably in a town meet ing Theyll likely have to build a community wastewater treatment plant and sewer system as the New London community is doing because the lots are too small and close together to accommodate individual septic tanks LeMaster estimated that about 90 to 95 percent of the homes in Hemlock are discharging sewage into groundwater tiles according to dye tests hes conducted In dye tests health department staff pour red dye down toilets in the homes and then check underground drain riles nearby If the dye shows up they know the home lacks a septic system and is send ing its sewage into the groundwa ter LeMaster said Officials used the dyetesting tecltnique in the New London community in 1989 and got simi lar results That community also with 66 homes has secured a state Department of Commerce grant and is in the process of building a wastewater treatment plant and sewers to modernize its sewage system The small communities of West Middleton and Oakford will also be investigated but many lots there are large enough to install legal septic systems negating E Coli detected High levels of E Coll bacteria were recently detected In underground drainage tiles in the Hemlock community water runs northwest In underground pipes for about a mile then begins an aboveground creek at the comer Of county roads 400 East and 300 South The creek 3008 LLJ underground i I water flows northwest the need for a wastewater treat ment plant Cross said Cross stressed that Hemlock res idents are in no immediate danger of being contaminated through their drinking water because tiles are carrying the polluted water away from their wells But they should stay away from spots where the tile is broken and the water spouts up into yards form ing standing water Also on alert should be residents such as the Schavees who live about a mile northwest of the area in the Wind ing Brook subdivision a culde sac of newer homes near the Tay lor Schools Corp campus The underground drainage tiles from Hemlock pour into the Taylor Run creek near there forming the winding brook that empties into the Kokomo Creek Putting up the lights Kokomo Parks Department worker Darryl Ryan erects a fixture of Christmas lights Tues day in Highland Park The display new this year includes an arch over the parks exit with angels and lights on each side The park wHI open Friday for viewing from 6 to 9 Tribune photo by Brian Reynolds NATO jets blast Serbians SARAJEVO BosniaHerzegov ina AP NATO warplanes bombed Bosnian Serb surfaceto air missile sites this morning that had fired on British jets over northwest Bosnia The airstrike at Otoka Bosanska Krupa and Dvor was the second on Serbian positions by the West ern allies in three days NATO said the bomb ing run by 20 attack and support aircraft was defensive in response to Tuesdays firing of a pair of missiles at two Harrier jets over the Bihac region Those missiles missed the British aircraft chief Boutros Boutros Ghali described todays bombings by NATO aircraft from the United States Britain France and the Netherlands as successful Adm Leighton W Smith NATO commander for southern Europe said the attack was done in selfdefense after the British reconnaissance mission was tired on Tuesday by Serbs east of Bihac a safe haven NATO sources in Brussels told The Associated Press the war planes were dispatched to bomb the Serb missile site at Otoka 15 miles northeast of Bihac believed to have carried out the Harrier attack En route NATO planes were locked on by Serb radar at missile sites in Bosanka Krupa and Dvor south and north of Otoka and those installations were bombed as a precaution the sources said This is our right to defend the pilots who are required to fly in that Adm Smith said It was the eighth NATO air action since the Bosnian war began in April 1992
;